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Page 521
and guarding them from further attack. She delayed no longer than to make sure Sir Guy and the men knew where she was going, and followed the servants inside. There was more than enough for her to do there. Her firm authority brought order out of chaos very quickly. The wounded were separated from the dead; water was set to heating; salves and ointments and silk for sewing wounds were gathered.
Alinor's one act of cowardice was to avoid asking for Ian, but for once good news came swiftly. As Alinor bound up the wounds of one man-at-arms, he whispered thanks to God for her and for her good lord.
"My lord?" she asked, barely louder than the wounded man's exhausted sigh.
"Without him we would have been overwhelmed on the first assault. He showed us" Then the eyes rolled up, and the man was unconscious. Alinor sat back on her heels for a moment to steady her breath.
"Where is Lord Ian?" she asked the man who lay on the right.
"Ridden out with Sir Peter and those who could ride," was the reply.
With Sir Peter? Alinor bent to look at the next wounded man with her mind in a whirl. If Ian had ridden out with Sir Peter, all her deductions had been false. Her hands tensed, and the man she was working over groaned. Alinor murmured an apology, a promise of greater care. The man gasped his own apology for the protest. At her worst, he assured Alinor, she did not wrench them about like the ham-handed leech.
"And where is he, this leech?" Alinor asked sharply. She had already inquired why the castle leech was not attending the wounded and had been told he was not in the keep. She had not pursued the matter at the time, but now her curiosity was aroused.
"I do not know. He has been gone more than a week, near two. First we thought he was gone to gather herbs to treat Lord Ian's sickness, but"

 
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